Life Past 30

A lot of people like potatoes.  Some even love potatoes, like myself.  My love affair with potatoes began many years when I was just a wee thing and it has never let up.  If anything, my love of potatoes has only increased throughout the years.  It does not matter how potatoes are prepared, mashed, baked, fried, or scalloped, I truly enjoy eating them.  With that said, I will admit that I have perfected the art of cooking homemade french fries and amongst other dishes.  My potato peeler was my best friend in spud preparation until last night.  I was peeling the spuds after washing them, as usual, and smiling at the prospect of sinking my teeth into delicious french fries cooked with onions.   

Well, when I was in the middle of peeling a very large red spud, I suddenly felt the blade of the peeler slice through the tip of my left index finger.  I immediately dropped the peeler and rushed to the bathroom to see the extent of the damage.  After rinsing my finger I held it up for a closer look.  It’s amazing, but half of the tip and a small portion of the nail were cut.  See how I am sparing the bloody details?  The cut is slightly deep and will take some time to heal completely, but I have not had an injury like this since 1996 when I served on Mess Duty in Okinawa.  That time, I was cutting onions with a large butcher knife and ended up completely taking off the left side of the tip of my ring finger.  The knife went left when it should have gone straight down.  That wound healed very nicely and left minimal scarring.  

Needless to say, my finger is in some pain today, but is bandaged properly.  I am not too sure if I want to use the peeler again any time soon, but I will have to eventually as I cannot stay away from the potatoes too long.  I cannot wait for it to heal so I can type without slowing down, too.  Now, on to planning the route I will run in the morning.

For the past three days, I have been experiencing a nagging pain in the back of my right knee.  That is the knee I had surgery on 10 years ago and for some reason, the pain is exacerbated by sitting for long periods of time.  Another thing I have noticed, besides the pain, is some accompanying swelling.  This is more than likely the cause of the pain behind my knee.  Stretching and massaging the area mitigates the discomfort, but only temporarily.  I am quite sure this is the result of running the marathon, but I do not know why it is affecting me now.  It is almost like it was lying-in-wait until I was ready to start training again.  An ambush.  I am sitting here now and constantly shifting in my chair because movement while sitting helps a little. 

I understand perfectly that marathon running puts a lot of strain on the body and that the healing process can sometimes take longer than expected.  Up until three days ago, everything was feeling great and then this new pain showed itself.  I wish it would go back to where ever it came from.  Its presence is only telling me that I need to run a little and soon!  The only thing I can do between now and Thursday is continue to stretch the area and deal with the discomfort the best way I know how.  Did I mention that my knee issues get under my skin sometimes?   

I was supposed to run this weekend.  The trek I had planned was going to last for 20-30 minutes, just as a test.  This weekend was going to be “the” weekend for me to see where my body is in terms of healing and ability.  Unfortunately, I was not able to get around to it.  Since running the marathon, I have been feeling better with each passing week and now that I am ready for a short run, I have not had the time to do it.  This is where some frustration has been able to creep in.

When I was running on a regular basis, I felt and slept better.  My stress levels were lower than usual, even with the stuff I have going on every day.  Right now, I feel pretty good, but have noticed a slight increase in stress.  No, let me rephrase that.  I have noticed a slight increase in how I have been dealing with stress.  Lately, my patience has not been holding up as well as it did when I was running.  I am becoming easily irritated and do not like it.  Besides listening to my favorite music, running allows me to forget about everything.

It is interesting for me to note the changes I have been experiencing since running the marathon.  After being careful with walking and other daily activities, for the two weeks following the race, I began feeling a little withdrawn.  I am sure it was due to some hormonal changes that were taking place in my body as it fixed itself and adjusted to the strain I put it through on that day.  Now, I am feeling more like myself, but still needing to run.  With that said, I will use the Thanksgiving holiday to try my first run.  The two days off will give me a chance to assess my body and its limits.

In an effort to catch up on blogging, I stayed up way too late last night and into this morning knowing that I had to work today.  I figured since I had some energy left over from the easy day yesterday, I could swing it without any problems.  When I finally rested my head on my pillow, the time was 5:49AM this morning.  Surprisingly, I woke up at 8:38 this morning, although I felt quite groggy and wished to crawl back into bed.  I heard somewhere that the older you get, the less sleep you need.  I am beginning to think that was a lie.  I need all the Zzz’s I can catch and at least 7 hours of sleep a night to feel like myself.

Of course, it was not always this way as I used to have work/party marathons for three days straight when I was in my twenties.  Back then, my friends and I could literally work all day long for 10 hours, go home, shower, and dress for a night out on the town and go straight to work afterwards.  These days, staying up late is restricted only to the weekends and up to Saturdays mostly.  Sundays are needed for me to recuperate from the lack of proper sleep on Friday and Saturday night, but tonight will be different.  Once I have completed this post and another post on my other blog, I am heading straight to the bed to count sheep.

Lately, I have been having bouts of nostalgia and feeling like I want to be 16 again.  That was a great for me, although it was not a great time for many people here at that time.  The city was dealing with a highly elevated crime rate with people being killed almost every night.  Back then, I was two years away from being a legal adult and making my own decisions and I loved it.  Life was still good when I turned 18, got my first tattoo, danced the night away at a club for the first time, and enlisted in the Marine Corps.  Fourteen years later, I am sometimes amazed at how those early days seem like yesterday to me.

I love being 32 and feel stronger, mentally and physically, than I did after becoming a Marine.  I have always heard that the “thirties” is the decade where you find yourself and mold yourself into what you want to be.  Since 2006, I have learned it is also the time when little things have more importance and you give more thought to your actions and behavior.  Although perpetually impatient, I am calmer than my 21 year old self.  I am still learning that wisdom comes from life experiences, both good and bad, and how you deal with them.  I even find myself telling my daughter the same things my mother used to say to me.

Regaling my daughter with stories of my childhood and early adulthood give me great pleasure because it enables me to share my memories of a different era with her.  Every day, I try to make her youth as enjoyable or better than mine was.  Watching her grow into young woman is the best thing I could ask for.  This growing up thing is pretty cool.

For the past week or so, I have added a few extras to my usual meals.  I feel guilty, but I have not been able to stop myself.  Sure, I will start training again in December, but the “bad stuff” has been so delicious.  My usual diet consists of brown rice, lean turkey breast, lots of fish, some shrimp, tofu, pasta, potatoes, and dark green vegetables.  Spinach is my favorite and has completely replaced lettuce in my salads for the past two years.  You can imagine how angry I was when spinach was recalled a little while ago.  I was forced to eat Romaine lettuce instead, but at least it is dark green and has more nutrients than lettuce.

Now, back to my recent unhealthy munches.  I have been snacking on chocolate, chips, and even had a few brownies.  The funny thing is I enjoyed every bite, crunch, and chew while feeling horribly guilty at the same time.  Is that even possible?  Apparently it is and I have proof.  When I went to the grocery store tonight, I bought a box of brownies that contains 6 packs (12 brownies total) for a $1.39.  I convinced myself that I would not have one until tomorrow while at work.  Well, I can tell you THAT plan did not work out well.  I had one pack because the creamy texture of the brownies was just too much to resist at that moment.

I believe this latest snack attack is the result of me wanting to run and not being able to.  When I was training regularly, it was a rarity for me to crave any kind of junk food, but I would indulge in chocolate every now and then.  The healthy lunch of steamed green beans and cod I had today made me proud.  I did not even look at the french fries that were laid out in all their golden splendor.  As of now, the junk fest ends.

For the past two days, I have been on a roll with crocheting some small, wearable crocheted items.  The first one, completed on Wednesday, is a white scarf trimmed in yarn that alternates from off-white to black.  The second is a belt that can be worn with almost anything casual or business-related.  It seems my desire for crocheting has increased as the temperatures have dropped in the area.  It is obviously the result of me having to brave the brisk, cold winds of my commute.  This weekend shall bring to fruition a warm and fuzzy afghan.

The weather this morning was cold, yet mild because the wind gusts were mild.  Luckily, I have not been in pain, even with the cold temps and that is good thing.  Osteo Bi-Flex is proving to be a wonderful supplement.  As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, the happier I become because the time for regular training is also drawing near.  I will have four days off next week (!!) and plan on training and crocheting as much as possible.  I doubt I will overeat, but I will have a second helping of turkey.  I love those birds!  The road is calling me and my feet cannot wait to pound the pavement.  I feel great and look forward to loading lots of fresh air into my lungs.

Here are the pictures of what I made:

I finally finished making the scarf I started.  The great finale happened at lunch time and wasn’t I the happiest person for about 10 minutes!  It will be worn this evening to help me battle the frigid cold that has descended upon the area in recent days.  Although I have been taking the Osteo Bi-Flex tablets every day, I have been experiencing pain in both my knees, but that is only due to the arthritis.  During the day, I sit right beside a large window that gives me a view of one of the Metro stations and part of the sky.  I was freezing today and the heat is not exactly doing its job.  Right now, the sky is looking quite creepy and some flat, well organized clouds have moved in.  Could that be snow?  I hope. 

Now, as far as my knees go, they are almost normal.  The operative word here is “almost”.  If it was not for the cold temperatures, they would not hurt at all.  The only thing I can do is keep moving throughout the day and make sure I keep them warm.  It might also help if my desk was not so close to the window.  As soon as I get home, I am going to put on my sweatpants and set the heat at 90 degrees for at least 30 minutes, then lower it.  This is coming from someone who does not like a lot of heat, but I must make an exception today.  I’m cold!

I must rescind the “Worst Morning” award given to yesterday’s morning rush hour.  THIS morning was the worst, but crocheting helped me deal with it.  As I progressed in making the scarf I plan on wearing out of here this evening, I stopped caring about the traffic and was happy to have the seat beside me remain empty all the way to the downtown area.  Not one person interrupted me while I crocheted and my ears were not assailed by the screaming of young children.  Don’t get me wrong, I love children, but I cannot tolerate uncontrolled outbursts and fits.  That is just one reason why I do not go to Chuck E. Cheese’s.  Overall, the bus was very quiet and that is always a great thing.   

I woke up in a great mood this morning because, for the first time in a long time, I was able to snag 9 hours of sleep last night.  I honestly cannot recall the last time I was able to do that.  I stayed away from the computer when I got home and was not tempted in the least to log on.  Feeling good as I write this post, my mind is racing with thoughts of running again.  December 1st will be here before I know it and the prospect of hitting the pavement and clearing my head is so welcoming.  I have been perusing a few sites that sell workout clothing and found a few items that will be perfect for running in the cold.  The shoes I wore during the marathon still have a lot of miles on them, but I plan on buying another pair soon.  With the number of miles I plan on running, the new shoes will come in handy.  Now, if only I could find a way to fast forward through the next couple of weeks. 

As I have written before, the bus is the mode of transportation I use to get to and from work during the week.  Normally, the ride is uneventful and relatively quick, however, this morning was the worst of all.  Sure, it could get worse, but since I cannot see into the future, it holds the record for the worst morning on the bus.  First, I had to stand in the cold among many other people who were waiting to get on the bus.  After boarding and finding a seat, I, along with everyone else, had the displeasure of having to sit in traffic for 20 minutes before finally being able to get across the bridge.  I would not normally get upset over this, but I left the house a little earlier than usual and feel my time was wasted.  Reaching the bridge has become somewhat of a problem in recent days due to the increased amount of traffic.  The lower gas prices have been luring people back into their cars and since they have hit road, morning rush hour has been a nightmare. 

Learning to be patient is a daily battle for me and some days are worse than others.  However, I do not see a logical reason for drivers to take so long to press the gas pedal when the light turns green.  How hard is it for someone to accelerate their car when they see a green light.  There is nothing mesmerizing about a green light, but I could be wrong.  Were it not for those “slow ones”, the traffic flow just might improve a bit.  I think that is asking too much of them, especially since most of them are preoccupied with something else when they should be watching the road…and the lights.  I will be crocheting on the bus tomorrow, you know, just in case there’s a 30 minute delay in traffic.  Now I wish the gas prices were above $3 a gallon.